Klint Kubiak has officially arrived as the next head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. He clearly won his introductory press conference, but it's also clear that he knows the amount of work that's ahead for him if he wants to turn the Silver and Black into a contender.
The first part of that work will be hiring a coaching staff, which, of course, he's having to do in a compressed timeframe and with fewer options than his fellow new head coaches had. From there, Kubiak will have a key role in evaluating the current roster.
Of course, he will do this in close consultation with general manager John Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady. If players he has ties to are on the radar in free agency or for potential trades, Kubiak will be a particularly important voice in the offseason plan.
While advocating for certain players he has coached before would be obvious, Kubiak could just as easily push the Raiders away from players he's the most familiar with based on a variety of circumstances.
Klint Kubiak could use Tre Tucker in Rashid Shaheed's role for Raiders
As part of his lengthy look at Kubiak's arrival to the Raiders, ESPN's Ryan McFadden took a look at the projected new offensive system in Las Vegas with a mention of some players. Namely, tight end Brock Bowers is set up to thrive with Kubiak as the Raiders' play caller.
But he, of course, is not the only one, nor the only Las Vegas pass-catcher that Kubiak could unlock a different level for. McFadden mentioned one of those players: Fourth-year wide receiver Tre Tucker.
"The Raiders also have wide receiver Tre Tucker (57 catches, 696 yards and five touchdowns), who can stretch the field vertically. He has made strides in each of the three seasons he has been in the league and could take a bigger leap with Kubiak as the playcaller," McFadden wrote. "Tucker was praised for getting open by winning his one-on-one matchups. Kubiak was good at scheming plays that created one-on-one matchups for his pass catchers."
Tucker's three seasons in the Silver and Black have been laced with unrealized potential. Even this past season, when he set career-highs across the board, he had a big game in Week 3 against the Washington Commanders, but with little else of note amid the Raiders' offensive dysfunction.
Tucker showed, without question, particularly after Jakobi Meyers was traded, that he is not a WR1-type. But he can still be a meaningful contributor in the right system, and there's a place for him in Kubiak's offense.
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In terms of a tie to Kubiak, there may be no player with a deeper tie than free agent wide receiver Rashid Shaheed. The Seahawks acquired him from the New Orleans Saints at the trade deadline in November, and he made some impactful plays during their run to a Super Bowl ring.
Kubiak was also the Saints' offensive coordinator in 2024. That season, Shaheed was on his way to career-bests across the board as a pass catcher before an injury ended things for him just six games into the campaign.
Shaheed undeniably made himself some money by being such an X-factor in Seattle's Super Bowl run. Spotrac is currently projecting him for a three-year, $42.38 million contract, which is $14.1 million per year. Luckily, money is not going to be a big deal for the Raiders this offseason.
But Tucker carries a reasonable $3.8 million cap hit for this year, the final year of his rookie contract. If Kubiak thinks he already has someone who can replicate what Shaheed offers to his offense, at a fraction of the cost, the Raiders can cut that financial corner and not lose anything.
Tucker may also have some untapped potential as a return man, based on what he did in that area as a college player, to further replicate what Shaheed brings to the table. If Tucker can be the dynamic field-stretcher that Shaheed has been, perhaps Las Vegas will save the money on the open market.